Gemma is a sweet and loving girl who loves when people are silly with her. She can be shy at first, but she enjoys learning others’ names and will always remember them, no matter how long ago she met you. Her favorite thing is her dance class, which she has been enrolled in since she could walk. Every time her parents drive down the road where her studio is, she yells, “DANCE CLASS!”
Under difficult circumstances, Gemma was born a month early, with her umbilical cord cutting off blood flow. She spent 28 days in the NICU working on growing, feeding, and getting stronger each day. Shortly after coming home, it was discovered that Gemma had bilateral sensorineural hearing loss, which affects both ears. At eight months old, she was also diagnosed with gross motor delays, meaning she reaches developmental milestones later than typical. Since then, she has been in physical and speech therapy—and she has now graduated from speech therapy.
Gemma loves to laugh at peek-a-boo, playing chase, and making silly faces. Her parents’ proudest moments include when she first started walking at 19 months old and when she drew a picture of a person and asked to add hearing aids to the picture. Her resilience and willingness to keep trying when things are hard truly define who she is. She is a bright light who is capable of anything she sets her mind to!